On February 12-26, 2019, the Government and the Central Bank held meetings with the delegation led by Hossein Samiei, head of IMF Mission, to discuss a new three-year program with the IMF (Precautionary Stand-By Arrangement). The program will assist the Government of Armenia in implementing comprehensive economic reforms to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth while maintaining fiscal and financial sustainability and reducing external vulnerability. The program will also provide an opportunity to receive IMF support for key issues of the RA Government Program, particularly in the area of business environment improvement, human capital and infrastructure development, anti-corruption and public administration.
The IMF Mission discussed macroeconomic developments, mid-term forecasts and key reforms of the Armenian Government and the Central Bank. The Mission assessed (press release by the IMF Mission - see the following: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2019/02/26/armenia-pr1959-imf-staff-completes-2019-article-iv-mission-and-reaches-a-staff-level-agreement) that as a result of Armenia's reasonable macroeconomic policy, Armenia's economic indices, fiscal environment and financial system are stable and the Armenian Government has initiated key reforms for economic development.
As a result of the discussions, the framework of macroeconomic and structural reforms and medium-term economic development of the RA Government has been formed, which will be put in the basis of the program's conclusion, and an agreement has been reached to present the RA Government's application to the discussion of the IMF Board.